High praise for you! Theres no fat on this video, which is where some magic commentary channels I find to really hurt them. I knew all of this info going in and was still thoroughly entertained. Keep it up man!
One more tip to build budget decks, pick a general strategy that has been well supported but isn't a top tier strategy in any major constructed format. For example, I have a $30 John Benton deck that is built around cheap pump spells and protection. There are tons of Giant Growth and Snakeskin Veil type cards, basically every new set has a couple of these cards. Additionally, outside of a few exceptions these card do not see play outside of limited. The supply is high and the demand is low so the price stays low.
I agree, the mana base is a great way to save. I think people miss that something being better doesn't mean its a lot better. I really think its worth comparing a few better lands to a whole deck to put into perspective what spending money on the best gets you. And I love bounce lands. Also I find playing two colours and not having access to every tool more enjoyable to deck build.
Admittedly, Scrylands and bounce lands are quick to cut as either you or your pod get better at the game. However, its a fine choice for new players if you already have them(precons or friends). Regardless, the advice is otherwise stellar. It'll save me from repeating myself next time I'm asked for deck building advice.
@davidhouseman4328 I actually cap all my decks to $65. My land base matches the video perfectly. I used to run bouncelands, but they often slowed me down. So if you have a cmc 2 and 3 card in hand. If you have a bounceland as a land. You can't cast both by turn 3. Depending on the deck, that can be a huge downside. Talismans and 2 mana ramp can help, but you won't always have the two in hand to make up for that early game weakness. Though, some decks may still opt to use them to reuse certain land abilities or to be a land down for catchup cards like Knight of White Orchid, etc, or even cards that let you play extra lands.
@Singing_Hat they do commonly slow you down, but even in the same game they can speed you up. With your example, if you don't have another land you can't play your 3 drop, but that means you don't have a 4th land. The bounce land effectively gives you that. It gives mana faster the turn you would have missed your land drop and every turn after
@davidhouseman4328 Certainly a noteworthy perk. I think we can both agree that it's slow at the benefit of color fixing and land consistency. Whether one runs it, I think, comes down to whether your deck or pod values/requires more speed vs consistency.
The other way to get a more expensive card you may want is to trade for it. Iv had plenty of times where someone wanted a bunch of my lower end and bulk cards all so i could get the one or two more expensive cards.
In terms of WUBRG decks on a budget, I would highly recommend trying out a gates land base. There are a few cards that fetch 1-2 gates, as well as cards like tempt with discovery that let you find lands, which can be gates. With the exception of the Black Gate from Lord of the Rings, as of posting this comment, a gates land base with a few ramp spells is about $15, not including basics.
I love using proxies, but I also love the challenge of finding alternatives that I could conceivably buy to substitute stuff like Cyclonic Rift and Demonic Tutor for whatever it is that I'm trying to do. Sometimes, in some decks, certain cheap cards can actually be better than the expensive staples because of the unique synergies they create, and finding them is so much fun in and of itself. For example, in my Alania Divergent Storm deck River's Rebuke is often arguably better than Cyclonic Rift for a few reasons. Firstly, if I have a board state that allows it, and the deck is planned to create that board state consistently, River's Rebuke bounces all nonland permanents of all three my opponents at once for one less mana than Cyclonic Rift, at the price of making an opponent draw a card (I have other permanents that allow me to copy spells I play aside from the commander). Secondly, most of the time I don't even need to sweep the boards of all three of my opponents and paint a target on my back by making any victim caught in the crossfire that wasn't my objective angry at me. Most of the time, hitting one of my opponents is enough, but hitting two and making the third one draw a card with Alania's ability means that I just swiped the two scariest boards on the table and made a temporary alliance with the remaining player, which is even better. And in my Muldrotha deck (the only top 50 EDHREC commander I play and I don't even run Out of the Tombs in it) Vile Entomber is arguably better than most other more expensive tutors, because it puts a 2/2 body with deathtouch on the field, so an excellent deterrent against enemies attacking me with their big bad dangerous creatures, and with all the sac outlets in the deck I can repeatedly reanimate it to tutor even more stuff, while Muldrotha can't summon back sorcery or instant-based tutors. It's more mana than most other tutors, but my version of that deck runs a lot of ramp and ways to get a lot of lands out of the graveyard quickly, meaning it's very rarely starving on mana, Also, in my Urtet Remnant of Memnarch deck any tutor that puts cards in the graveyard are almost as good as those that put them in my hand because of all the artifact recursion it has. Wayfarer's Bauble, already a cheap staple, is even better in that deck because it sometimes gets put back on the field by accident by recursion effects meant to get combo pieces out of the graveyard (that deck has so many ways to go infinte on mana, card draw, and token generation by using Myr Galvanizer that it's actually funny), giving me even more ramp in addition to all the mana dorks I run due to it being a Myr-focused deck. Thinking about how your deck works you can fairly often find cards that work just as well if not better than any expensive staple, you just need to get creative.
All good examples, I think in the age of Internet min maxing people have a hard time realizing you don't need the expensive staples (purchased or proxy) to have a deck work really well...and honestly done right a budget deck can actually be just as good or better than a proxy deck or more expensive cards
Subbed. My group does like proxies but only if you are testing and own the card in other decks and just makes life easier. I personally dont proxy funny enough but im fine others doing so
The only thing I have to say about that is if you're playing fetch lands, you're probably already playing shock lands. But for cards like Farseek or Nature's Lore those can be effective
Nice Video! I'm still waiting for them to print a budget alternative to Homeward Path. Sanctum of Eternity can sort of work, but if I'm donating a creature that isn't my commander it's not going to be able to get that back for me. Best of luck on your rise to 1 million likes!
i only proxy cards that arent worth buying. my Xyris, The Writhing Storm is $11 in paper... but like it is a bunch of 3 and 5 cent cards that arent worth the dollar shipping, *each*, to get. i'll be damned before i spend $40+ on that. still has a ~70% win rate tho, but like... nah. everything is proxied. even proxied the basic lands in it with better art just for the meme of a 100% proxied deck :3
I don't comment on videos often but I really wanna see that Angus Mackenzie deck so I'm doing my part towards the million likes 👀 (honestly this is pretty good content I dig it)
I can't live without OG Fetch-Lands. This is not for me. I will not be able to play magic without them. I also play no green decks. Persistant Card Draw is expensive, unless you are willing to repeatedly fork out mana equal to passing your turn. I need to play staples so I can, with good conscience, let others play whatever they want. The social contract in magic does not work. I need to be prepared to stop everyone. I agree on the "Cohesive Decks run better" part. I like the " 6x6 Lands & 8x8 Cards" advice to see what my deck already runs.
I would love to see get your thoughts on spreading strategies too thinly. I find that a lot of new players will put a card in "because when I draw (specific card in the 99), it'll work super well"
I've had a personal philosophy about that for a while! I'm not sure if I have enough for an entire video, but I have begun writing a video about win conditions and I can touch on that there. If I can compile some more thoughts on it I'll turn it into a video for sure
people try so hard on going budget in a game that everyday goes more and more to the proxy side of the force...I dont understand this...But yes, was a nce video (i still prefer to use powerhouse). ABout "proxing only what I have" a was this guy until mana crypt ban. I had 2 original crypts and to stay in the game and dont rage quit im going 100% proxy from now on
Depends on your reason for proxying, it seems it's often just for power level which I fine pointless for a casual game. If it's for a genuinely unique effect then I have sympathy.
I see budget as a deck building challenge more than an actual thing. Using a budget puts a finite quantity with which your deck fits under and excludes some expensive staples in the process as they go over budget or take away too much of the budget for a more rounded card quality. There's also those who genuinely don't have much money but still want honest pieces and will scour bulk boxes and add to their own cheap precons they got to make something functional. Proxying is fine, though you're likely to miss out on some niche interactions that come from scouring for a budget list in favor of proxying an expensive staple or synergy piece.
The first thing to cut budget is actually to see what cards you already have. For example, Demonic Tutor is $40+, but for me it costs nothing since I already have it. On the other hand Diabolic Tutor is a great budget option, but I don't have it, so for me superior Demonic Tutor is more budget-friendly.
A budget.....Angus Mackenzie....deck? Step 1- Buy copy of Angus Mackenzie Step 2- Realize that you've already gone over budget with Step 1 and put him back. Step 3- Pick a different commander Can you REALLY call it a budget deck when it'll run you a minimum of $120 just to get the commander?
Proxy cards if your playgroup is okay with it!
Counterfeit cards if your playgroup isn't okay with it!
High praise for you! Theres no fat on this video, which is where some magic commentary channels I find to really hurt them. I knew all of this info going in and was still thoroughly entertained. Keep it up man!
I appreciate it!
bro has made like 4 videos and already has a fan base
One more tip to build budget decks, pick a general strategy that has been well supported but isn't a top tier strategy in any major constructed format.
For example, I have a $30 John Benton deck that is built around cheap pump spells and protection. There are tons of Giant Growth and Snakeskin Veil type cards, basically every new set has a couple of these cards. Additionally, outside of a few exceptions these card do not see play outside of limited. The supply is high and the demand is low so the price stays low.
Straight to the point, speaking facts and spoken well. This guy going places. I hope you get to make that budget angus mackenzie deck one day
very educational, very nice
Thank you so much!
Great stuff as always! I'm a HUGE fan of proxies of all kinds.
I agree, the mana base is a great way to save. I think people miss that something being better doesn't mean its a lot better. I really think its worth comparing a few better lands to a whole deck to put into perspective what spending money on the best gets you. And I love bounce lands.
Also I find playing two colours and not having access to every tool more enjoyable to deck build.
Admittedly, Scrylands and bounce lands are quick to cut as either you or your pod get better at the game. However, its a fine choice for new players if you already have them(precons or friends).
Regardless, the advice is otherwise stellar. It'll save me from repeating myself next time I'm asked for deck building advice.
Not convinced bounce lands are an easy cut. And when they are cut it's because your spending a lot of money rather than being better at the game.
@davidhouseman4328 I actually cap all my decks to $65. My land base matches the video perfectly. I used to run bouncelands, but they often slowed me down.
So if you have a cmc 2 and 3 card in hand. If you have a bounceland as a land. You can't cast both by turn 3. Depending on the deck, that can be a huge downside. Talismans and 2 mana ramp can help, but you won't always have the two in hand to make up for that early game weakness.
Though, some decks may still opt to use them to reuse certain land abilities or to be a land down for catchup cards like Knight of White Orchid, etc, or even cards that let you play extra lands.
@Singing_Hat they do commonly slow you down, but even in the same game they can speed you up. With your example, if you don't have another land you can't play your 3 drop, but that means you don't have a 4th land. The bounce land effectively gives you that. It gives mana faster the turn you would have missed your land drop and every turn after
@davidhouseman4328 Certainly a noteworthy perk. I think we can both agree that it's slow at the benefit of color fixing and land consistency. Whether one runs it, I think, comes down to whether your deck or pod values/requires more speed vs consistency.
The other way to get a more expensive card you may want is to trade for it. Iv had plenty of times where someone wanted a bunch of my lower end and bulk cards all so i could get the one or two more expensive cards.
In terms of WUBRG decks on a budget, I would highly recommend trying out a gates land base. There are a few cards that fetch 1-2 gates, as well as cards like tempt with discovery that let you find lands, which can be gates. With the exception of the Black Gate from Lord of the Rings, as of posting this comment, a gates land base with a few ramp spells is about $15, not including basics.
Straight and to the point. Good video!
my name is robert how did you know..............................
You are my target audience
I am Robert too. Glad to be here!😂
@@RobertPoffelI'm not a Robert but I'm also happy to be here
1 million likes? A worthy goal! Good luck, solid advice.
Btw i love my Alela Flyers deck as well.
I love using proxies, but I also love the challenge of finding alternatives that I could conceivably buy to substitute stuff like Cyclonic Rift and Demonic Tutor for whatever it is that I'm trying to do. Sometimes, in some decks, certain cheap cards can actually be better than the expensive staples because of the unique synergies they create, and finding them is so much fun in and of itself.
For example, in my Alania Divergent Storm deck River's Rebuke is often arguably better than Cyclonic Rift for a few reasons.
Firstly, if I have a board state that allows it, and the deck is planned to create that board state consistently, River's Rebuke bounces all nonland permanents of all three my opponents at once for one less mana than Cyclonic Rift, at the price of making an opponent draw a card (I have other permanents that allow me to copy spells I play aside from the commander).
Secondly, most of the time I don't even need to sweep the boards of all three of my opponents and paint a target on my back by making any victim caught in the crossfire that wasn't my objective angry at me. Most of the time, hitting one of my opponents is enough, but hitting two and making the third one draw a card with Alania's ability means that I just swiped the two scariest boards on the table and made a temporary alliance with the remaining player, which is even better.
And in my Muldrotha deck (the only top 50 EDHREC commander I play and I don't even run Out of the Tombs in it) Vile Entomber is arguably better than most other more expensive tutors, because it puts a 2/2 body with deathtouch on the field, so an excellent deterrent against enemies attacking me with their big bad dangerous creatures, and with all the sac outlets in the deck I can repeatedly reanimate it to tutor even more stuff, while Muldrotha can't summon back sorcery or instant-based tutors. It's more mana than most other tutors, but my version of that deck runs a lot of ramp and ways to get a lot of lands out of the graveyard quickly, meaning it's very rarely starving on mana,
Also, in my Urtet Remnant of Memnarch deck any tutor that puts cards in the graveyard are almost as good as those that put them in my hand because of all the artifact recursion it has. Wayfarer's Bauble, already a cheap staple, is even better in that deck because it sometimes gets put back on the field by accident by recursion effects meant to get combo pieces out of the graveyard (that deck has so many ways to go infinte on mana, card draw, and token generation by using Myr Galvanizer that it's actually funny), giving me even more ramp in addition to all the mana dorks I run due to it being a Myr-focused deck.
Thinking about how your deck works you can fairly often find cards that work just as well if not better than any expensive staple, you just need to get creative.
All good examples, I think in the age of Internet min maxing people have a hard time realizing you don't need the expensive staples (purchased or proxy) to have a deck work really well...and honestly done right a budget deck can actually be just as good or better than a proxy deck or more expensive cards
Nice, I like these examples
Quality Content as always. :)
Thank you!
I find it's often way harder to find the
I was here before this guy was big
I was here too!
Subbed. My group does like proxies but only if you are testing and own the card in other decks and just makes life easier. I personally dont proxy funny enough but im fine others doing so
If you're looking for fetchabke dual lands at a very reasonable price, the snow tap lands from Kaldheim are pretty good options
The only thing I have to say about that is if you're playing fetch lands, you're probably already playing shock lands. But for cards like Farseek or Nature's Lore those can be effective
Love it. Thanks for sharing :) subbed
Nice Video! I'm still waiting for them to print a budget alternative to Homeward Path. Sanctum of Eternity can sort of work, but if I'm donating a creature that isn't my commander it's not going to be able to get that back for me. Best of luck on your rise to 1 million likes!
Not a land BUT, if you're in green Brooding Saurian Works. He'll even get back things that AREN'T creatures.^^
@zackkelley2940 oh wow I've never even SEEN this card before. Thanks!
i only proxy cards that arent worth buying. my Xyris, The Writhing Storm is $11 in paper... but like it is a bunch of 3 and 5 cent cards that arent worth the dollar shipping, *each*, to get. i'll be damned before i spend $40+ on that. still has a ~70% win rate tho, but like... nah. everything is proxied. even proxied the basic lands in it with better art just for the meme of a 100% proxied deck :3
I don't comment on videos often but I really wanna see that Angus Mackenzie deck so I'm doing my part towards the million likes 👀
(honestly this is pretty good content I dig it)
I hope you stick around, I really like your vids chief.
I gotchu algorithm boosting
From 1k viewed videos to a 4k view video 🙏 congrats homie
I can't live without OG Fetch-Lands. This is not for me. I will not be able to play magic without them.
I also play no green decks.
Persistant Card Draw is expensive, unless you are willing to repeatedly fork out mana equal to passing your turn.
I need to play staples so I can, with good conscience, let others play whatever they want. The social contract in magic does not work. I need to be prepared to stop everyone.
I agree on the "Cohesive Decks run better" part. I like the " 6x6 Lands & 8x8 Cards" advice to see what my deck already runs.
My Alela deck is very close to yours, but with Moonshaker and thassa Oracle for a plan B
Ah, unfortunately those two alone cost the same as the whole deck haha
i have an uncle Robert, Sadly he gave away my cousins mtg collection almost 30 years ago
i asked him about it like 3 years ago
Bummer!
I would love to see get your thoughts on spreading strategies too thinly. I find that a lot of new players will put a card in "because when I draw (specific card in the 99), it'll work super well"
I've had a personal philosophy about that for a while! I'm not sure if I have enough for an entire video, but I have begun writing a video about win conditions and I can touch on that there. If I can compile some more thoughts on it I'll turn it into a video for sure
Yo! My name's Robert!
Any commander is budget if you put 99 lands on it
people try so hard on going budget in a game that everyday goes more and more to the proxy side of the force...I dont understand this...But yes, was a nce video (i still prefer to use powerhouse). ABout "proxing only what I have" a was this guy until mana crypt ban. I had 2 original crypts and to stay in the game and dont rage quit im going 100% proxy from now on
I go back and forth with how often I proxy stuff out. I always keep a few decks around that are 100% proxy-free
Depends on your reason for proxying, it seems it's often just for power level which I fine pointless for a casual game. If it's for a genuinely unique effect then I have sympathy.
I see budget as a deck building challenge more than an actual thing. Using a budget puts a finite quantity with which your deck fits under and excludes some expensive staples in the process as they go over budget or take away too much of the budget for a more rounded card quality. There's also those who genuinely don't have much money but still want honest pieces and will scour bulk boxes and add to their own cheap precons they got to make something functional.
Proxying is fine, though you're likely to miss out on some niche interactions that come from scouring for a budget list in favor of proxying an expensive staple or synergy piece.
$30 decklist comes out to $89.72...
What, did you try to order it online through a single website like TCGPlayer? Never how you should buy decks, even a budget deck.
make arcum dagsson good on a budget
Gotta proxy for cEDH otherwise that sub format gonna die.
The first thing to cut budget is actually to see what cards you already have. For example, Demonic Tutor is $40+, but for me it costs nothing since I already have it. On the other hand Diabolic Tutor is a great budget option, but I don't have it, so for me superior Demonic Tutor is more budget-friendly.
You don't say?
I’m not on a budget but I like watching these budget videos just to see what the peasants are brewing.
A budget.....Angus Mackenzie....deck?
Step 1- Buy copy of Angus Mackenzie
Step 2- Realize that you've already gone over budget with Step 1 and put him back.
Step 3- Pick a different commander
Can you REALLY call it a budget deck when it'll run you a minimum of $120 just to get the commander?
Hiw about 10k likes! 😂
My plan is for WotC to have dissolved the RL by the time I hit 1 million
Buy bad conditioned cards.